Mizeraburu Shojo
by Kyky11
Summary: Chihiro faces many hardships on her journey in the Spirit World after her parents die.
1. The Deaths and the Reunion

**Mizeraburu Shojo**

"My mother is… dead?" Chihiro asked. The thought processed in her mind. She didn't even believe it. "How'd… how'd she… die?"

"She was shot five times and robbed." The officer told her. "I'm sorry miss…"

"Ogino, Chihiro Ogino." She said. She could barley breathe. Her Mom couldn't be dead. There would be no one left to go to. Her Dad died two years ago when she was 11. It was a hit and run situation. He had gone out to get some groceries. A car hit him and left him lying in the street. They never found out who it was.

"Where's our Father?" The officer asked and looked around.

"He passed away a couple years ago." Chihiro replied. Tears started to stream down her face. She tried to hold back a sob, but it came out. She couldn't stop. It poured out of her. She wailed. She cried. "Mommy!" She screamed.

"It's okay, shh…" The officer said. She stroked Chihiro's hair.

After Chihiro calmed down the officer asked her a few questions. "Do you have any relatives that you can stay with?"

"No, I don't." she said. Both her parents had been only children and all their parents had died a bit before Chihiro was born.

"I'm going to make a call down to the station. You can go outside and play or go to your room." The officer said. The officer went into the kitchen and started to dial.

Chihiro knew what was going to happen. She would go to a foster family. She would die before she was taken in. She went outside and sat on the steps.

She would run away she decided. She would travel Japan. She ran inside packed her bags and snuck out with a couple hundred Yen.

She started to cross the street. Out of nowhere a truck came speeding down the road. She just stared, frozen with fear. She couldn't scream.

Then, a great force pushed her out of the way. She looked up to see a boy. "Haku…" she said.


	2. Accident on the Way Home

Chapter 2

"Haku, is it really you?" she said. She stared at him with confusion. How could he be here? He said he couldn't pass the river…

"Chihiro, I'm so glad you're alive! I came to get you. Your parents are waiting right now in the spirit world." Haku said. Tears were streaming down his face. He was looking at her with such happiness. He hugged her for the longest time.

"Haku, are you sure I can go? I mean, what if the police officer finds out…" she began.

"Don't worry, just come with me and it will be all right." He said. He picked her up as she held her small bags. Wind swirled around them, and then they were off. They were flying through the woods to the gate.

When they got there, he put her down gently. He was strong put had a soft touch.

She looked into the cave and remembered what had happened three years ago. She was scared then, but now she ran in.

"Hey! Wait up!" yelled Haku running.

"Catch me if you can!" laughed Chihiro. She ran with her bags. They were very heavy. _Crash. _She had tripped over a stone.

Her leg hurt with immense pain. She was bleeding. "Owe!" she cried. She was almost on the verge of tears.

"Chihiro! Are you okay?" Haku asked. He seemed more afraid than she was. He then again, scooped her up in his arms and took off running.

It was only then Chihiro realized her head hurt. There was some blood. Her vision began to fade.

"Chihiro, were almost there, stay with me, okay?" Haku whispered. Fear was in his eyes.

Chihiro's vision went blank and so did her mind. She started to have a dream.

"_Mommy! Daddy! Where are you?" She cried. She was in a strange world full of shadows and darkness. Then She saw her parents standing together._

"_Chihiro, sweetie, come here!" they said._

_She started to walk towards them. The closer she got the more clearer they became._

_Her mother had three holes in her torso area, one in her left leg, and one in her head. There was blood smeared over her dress. Her hair was messed up._

_Her father had a bunch of tire marks all over him. His jacket had dirt all over it._

"_No!" Chihiro screamed._

"_Chihiro, why didn't you save us?" They cried. Their faces became sad looking. They started chasing her through the woods. Then she fell. They peered into her face and started to grin evilly. Horrible laughs came from both of them._

Chihiro awoke screaming as she did. She realized she felt different. She felt her leg. It had bandages on it and so did her arm. Then she felt her head. A big bandage was around it. She couldn't see out of one of her eyes and realized she was wearing an eye patch.

She looked around. She was in an odd room. There were paper screen doors. She was on a bed with a bedside table. She looked to the other side to see, to her surprise, Haku. He was fast asleep in a chair.


	3. The Awakening and Discovery

**Mizeraburu Shojo**

I'm sorry to say that this story goes on the rollercoaster of happiness. This story will get sadder each chapter. Of course there will be happy moments in each chapter. I hope you like this.

Chapter 3

Pain flooded Chihiro's body once more after realizing these wounds. She got up and tried to stand on her legs, but the moment she took a step, but she fell.

She almost screamed. She kept it inside though; Haku would wake if he heard a noise. She crawled on the tatami mat across the room to a mirror.

She balanced herself on the wall and looked in it. Her once brown glossy hair now had a silver streak or two in it. She looked at her eye patch. Should she take it off?

She began to take the eye patch off her head. She opened her left eye. She was horrified to see her eye color. It was a pure white eye.

"Ahh!" She screamed. She fell on the ground as she saw her once gray-brown eye had turned a different color.

At once, Haku's eyes streak open. In a second he was by Chihiro, trying to comfort her.

"Chihiro, what happened?" Haku asked in a soothing voice. He hugged her in his arms. He was more afraid than she was. He hoped she was all right.

"Don't look at me. Something bad happened and I'm scared." She said crying. She cried into his shoulder.

"Haku, why can't I walk?" She asked. Her legs were throbbing. She couldn't walk, that was the truth.

"When a human comes in here, their body weight stays the same. But we have a heavier gravity weight. So when you fell the impact was too much on your legs." He explained. Now, he was crying with her. He wished it wasn't true, but it was. "From now on, you will have to use a wheel chair. Chihiro, I'm so sorry. I didn't want any of this to happen. I promise I will protect you for the rest of eternity."

"I'm sorry", she said. She looked up reveling her eye and hair," I have another question. Why did this happen to my hair and eye?"

"When you got here, we immediately took you to the clinic. We didn't give you enough food so you hair and eye became a different color. But, Chihiro, you still look beautiful to me." He said and hugged her even tighter.

"Here, let's get you in a wheel chair." He said. He was about to pick her up, but then Chihiro said something.

"Haku, can we stay like this a little longer?" She asked. He heard pain in her voice.

"Okay." He said. He wanted Chihiro to be happy and adjust to her new life here.

They sat there on the floor, Haku held her in his arms. She stopped crying now. She just sat in his lap, finding her last ray of sunshine. Haku WAS her last ray of sunshine. Warmth flooded her, she had found her happiness.


	4. The Problem Stirs

**Mizeraburu Shojo**

Chapter 4

Haku pushed Chihiro down the hall, in her wheel chair. There was a long silence before Chihiro asked him a question.

"Haku… I'm really injured badly, so am I dead as a human?" She asked in a very nervous voice.

Haku looked concerned for a moment before he replied. "Chihiro, I will never keep something from you that I know you will ask. And if I do, I'm saving it to tell you at a better time." Chihiro turned to look up at him. "Chihiro, you are not dead. You are still alive as a human here. I will protect you for the rest of eternity, I promise that." He said as he looked down at her.

"Thank you, Haku-*sama." Chihiro smiled. A small tear fell down her cheek.

"Of course, Chihiro-*hime." Haku smiled as well. They both laughed and giggled.

Haku pushed the chair into the elevator and lifted the lever up. Chihiro looked out the little window slits in the elevator at all the workers. She then remembered she will have to get a contract for the job. "Haku, are we going up to get a job contract for me?" she asked.

Haku's face flashed with worry to wonder to annoyed and back to normal. "Chihiro, we will go to the guest rooms where I will explain something to you, okay?" he said with a worried expression.

Chihiro nodded, confused. She then thought about what would happen. She got scared about what was going to come.

Note: *Sama- someone with a great deal of respect. *Hime- Princess.


	5. The Ugly Truth

**Mizeraburu Shojo**

Chapter 5

Haku pushed Chihiro's chair down the guest hall. They took many turns until they came to a dead end. Haku wheeled her into the last one.

Chihiro took in her new surroundings. There was a photon, a low-table, four pillows, and another door. The photon was sea blue. The pillows were green, blue, pink, and purple. The low-table held paper, ink, an ink brush, a tea pot, and a tea cup.

Haku picked Chihiro up and carried her over to the photon. He tucked her under the covers and cleared his throat.

"Chihiro, you can't work. Your physical condition is too poor to even stand up. Yubaba can be cruel, but she would never let anyone work in this condition, so you will be fine. It is my fault. All of it is. If I hadn't raced with you then none of this would have happened. If I had carried you the whole way you could still walk." He said. Tears poured down his face.

Chihiro just looked at him, taking every word in. She pushed the covers off and started to scoot towards him. She winced with the pain from her legs. She scooted closer. When she got close enough she embraced him.

"Haku," she stammered, tears falling, "It's not your fault! It s mine! If I hadn't run ahead none of this would have happened! It's my own so don't blame yourself!" She cried, hugging him tightly.

He looked at her and dried her eyes. "Thank you, Chihiro-*hime. You really are a princess." He hugged her tight.

He carried her back over to the photon and tucked her in. When she fell asleep he laid down next to the photon and closed his eyes.

When Chihiro awoke, the sun was shining. She slid open the door on the far side of the room after she managed to scoot over. She saw the sea. Chihiro scooted more over to the railing. _They must have had rain again. _She thought to herself. She smiled at it. Last time she was here it had rained.

She remembered that she wanted to see Lin. "Lin…" her voice trailed off.

"Chihiro…" Haku said.

She screamed and twisted her head around. Haku's face had a sleepy expression as he was standing.

"You shouldn't crawl around; it's going to hurt your leg more." He said. Haku picked her up and put her in her wheel chair. He then pushed her out to see the sea.

"Haku, where is Lin?" She asked as she twisted her head to see him.

His face froze with a stunned expression. He just stared out into the sea.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Terror washed over her face.


	6. A Loss and A Dream

**Mizeraburu Shojo**

Chapter 6

"Haku, where is Lin?" Chihiro repeated. She looked at him as she repeated it again.

"Doesn't she work here?" she asked.

"Chihiro, Lin left." Haku stammered. He looked down at her. "She got a high pay and could afford a train ticket to the city." He pointed to where the town was.

Chihiro remembered Lin saying that one day she would leave and go to the town. The town was alive at night. Chihiro saw this when Lin was talking about it. The town glowed and looked like a festival.

"She… left," Chihiro started, "I'm glad she got to go where she dreamed she would live." She smiled.

Haku could tell what smile this was. It wasn't the goofy smile. It wasn't the super happy smile. It was a sad smile. Haku was surprised for a second to hear what Chihiro said, but then smiled also. That was the kind of person Chihiro was. Caring, optimistic, and always putting other people before herself Haku thought.

"Chihiro, I have to go to take inventory. Will you be alright by yourself?" Haku asked.

"Uh-huh." Chihiro said. She gave a nod.

"Okay, bye-bye Chihiro-hime!" Haku said.

"Bye-bye, Haku-sama!" Chihiro laughed.

Haku left the balcony and room. Chihiro looked out at the sea.

"Where did you go Lin?" She asked before drifting to sleep into a dream.

"_Lin! Lin!" Chihiro shouted. She ran through the ghostly town. "Lin!"_

"_Chihiro!" came a voice._

"_Lin?" she turned around. In front of her, stood Lin. Lin waved and smile._

"_Lin!" Chihiro smiled and hugged her. But she went right through her._

"_Lin!" Chihiro screamed._

"_I'll always be there, Chihiro." Came Lin's gentle voice._

"_NO!" Chihiro screamed._


	7. A Bath and A Little Sister

**Mizeraburu Shojo**

Chapter 7

"No!" Chihiro screamed. She awoke to the sound of her voice. "It was… It was just a dream." She said.

Chihiro looked around. It was nighttime and the town was ablaze, with it million lights from the lamps to the stars. She steered herself into her room.

She then remembered something. One of the main reasons she came here: her parents. She had to see them.

Her door room slid open. "Chihiro?" It was Haku.

"Haku, can I see my parents?" She asked.

This question caught Haku off guard, but he quickly responded, "Of course." He was about to leave when Chihiro said:

"First though, can I take a bath?" Chihiro had noticed she still had dirt on her skin from when she fell. She also didn't smell too pleasant either.

"Of course." Haku replied. He wheeled her down to the elevator. The ride was long and silent. When they got to the right floor, Chihiro realized that she didn't have any towels.

As though Haku read her mind, he picked up a towel for her. He wheeled her until they came to the right bathing hall.

He wheeled Chihiro into one of the bath stalls, picked her up out of the chair, and then rested her in easy reach of the bath. He left the stall and the rest of it to her.

She undressed quickly, wrapped the towel around her, and got in the bath. She left her eye patch on though.

The bath was unlike any other. It was warm but not too steamy. It also smelled like lilacs and lavender.

"Ahh…" she sighed. It was nice to rest in the warm, soothing water. She felt so relaxed.

Then her troubles came back. What was that dream about? Lin said," I'll always be there, Chihiro." What did she mean?

Chihiro felt troubled and dumbfounded. She couldn't make sense of what was happening. She closed her eyes and thought for a long time.

_Knock knock._ The door to the stall slid open and a woman was there holding clothes. She looked like a worker and resembled Chihiro's age. She held a stack of clothes.

"Chihiro-hime." The girl said. "Master Haku has sent me to deliver these to you."

The girl walked over and put a cotton kimono down. It had beautiful shimmers of different color on it, like fireworks. Under it was another towel.

"*Hanabi." Chihiro said. "Oh and, you don't have to call me Hime. That's just a joke. I'm nothing special."

"Oh, but miss, that's not true. You are the world to *Nii-Sama." The girl said.

"Huh," Chihiro started," Are you Haku's little sister?" She looked puzzled.

"Well not biologically, but he took me in and gave me a job here. He helped me out a lot. He said if I wanted, He could be my older brother." The girl said.

"So, you like him." Chihiro asked in wonder.

The girl turned a deep shade of red. "No, no, no. Not romantically. More like friendly or family."

"What's your name?" Chihiro asked eagerly.

"Oh?" the girl said. "Um, my name is *Tsutanai."

"Okay, well just call me Chihiro." Chihiro said.

"Okay!" Tsutanai grinned.

*: Hanabi; Fireworks Nii-sama; Respected older brother Tsutanai; Clumsy One


	8. Reunion: Chihiro, The Twins, And Parents

**Mizeraburu Shojo**

Chapter 8

After a bit more of talking, Tsutanai waited outside for Chihiro to get dressed.

Chihiro put on her under clothes after she dried off and sat, starring at the kimono. She had never worn one. She had worn a yukata though.

Within minutes she had gotten the Hanabi Kimono on. She had no idea if it was on right, but 'Oh well.' She thought.

"Tsutanai, can you help me get into the wheelchair?" she called out. No answer. "Tsutanai?" Silence.

"Aw man!" Chihiro murmured. Tsutanai must have had work to get back to. She crawled to her wheelchair and grabbed the seat. She tried to climb and hold herself with her strength but she fell, exhausted from straining herself.

She then felt something lift her into the chair. She turned her head but there was only air. "Huh?" She looked around. In the doorway she saw two tall, plump, white haired women. They both had a large nose and two moles between their eyes. Each wore a navy blue dress and red amulet.

"Granny! Yubaba!" Chihiro cried. She wanted to get up and run but couldn't. Instead, her wheelchair zoomed over to them.

"Chihiro, how have you been?" Zeniba asked. Her eyes twinkled with her spectacles on.

"Not too great, but at least I'm still alive, right?" Chihiro said. "What about you?"

"Great! No Face has been a wonderful help. Boh visits often with Yu-bird." She said.

"Pish-Posh! I have to pay fees!" Yubaba said. She crossed her arms and sighed.

"Yubaba it's nice to see you too." Chihiro smiled. "I'm sorry but I can't work here though, in this condition."

"Maybe I can make money off you, if guests feel pity toward you." Yubaba thought aloud.

"Sister! Don't say that!" Zeniba scolded.

"I was kidding, but Chihiro, why are _you_ here?" Yubaba asked.

"Haku told me that when my parents died, they got sent near here. I think they work here." Chihiro explained.

"What's your last name again?" Yubaba asked.

"Ogino." Chihiro replied.

"Hmmm… Ogino, Ogino…" Yubaba thought aloud. "Ah, yes. We have an Akio and Yuuko Ogino that works here. Those are your parents? They are the hardest workers here."

"Really? Can you please take me too them?" Chihiro exclaimed.

"Why of course." Said Zeniba. She pushed Chihiro's chair out the stall, following Yubaba. They walked to the central stalls, where hundreds of workers were busy scrubbing, taxing, and cooking. Chihiro then saw a man and woman laughing together and talking.

The woman had short brown hair and was wearing a uniform. The man was tall with a buzz cut of hair. He also wore a uniform. Instantly, Chihiro knew who they were.

"Okasan! Otosan!" She called out. They turned to the little girl's voice. Both pairs of eyes lit up. The woman dropped her pale of water and the man dropped his broom.

"Chi-Chihi- Chihiro!" They said simultaneously. They ran to their daughter and kissed and hugged her lots. They didn't let go of her for a long time, unaware of who was watching them.

Above, in a loft, sat Haku, watching the whole thing. He smiled, and a tear ran down his cheek. "Chihiro, you are a true princess." He whispered.


End file.
